Stories of Mermaids have been told for centuries, be it in the form of folklores, legends or faerietales. Images of this creature have plagued artists and writers in their efforts to bring to life the mystery, beauty, and yes, eroticism of the mermaid to their audiences. The role of mythology is ever changing in our human society and it is with this in mind that the time has come for a stocktake of these mediums to establish the different roles the mermaid has played in human development. . .
Within the following pages your senses will be taken back to the beginings of the mermaid mythology. The mermaid was not always portrayed the way it is today so the information you are about to see is an attempt to trace the mythology of mermaids and to discover why the myth survived the centuries.
With the use of four seperate categories you are able to access the basic mediums that are used to spread the legends and folklores. The most available medium was oral, word of mouth. Art and literature follow close by, for as civilisation developes, so too does the mermaid.
-a chronological collection of folklores and legends in an attempt to find any patterns or distinct differences from our beginings to today. This sections contains oral traditions and literature, infact the oral traditions became the sources for literature, but you'll learn more when you get there.
-the most famous faerietale of mermaids is without a doubt The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson, it is not however, the only one. Here you will find comentaries of other faerietales that involve mermaids and female water-sprites. This is by no means a complete listing of all fictional stories, but rather a look at the stories that stand out the most in an historical context to help portray the changing role of mermaids through literature.
- the place and date of some recorded sightings during the nineteenth century around the British Isles. Accompanying this is the report, some of which are very amusing, and others very convincing.
-what is hopefully a comprehensive, chronological, collection of some of the more wordly known mermaids through painting, sculpture, and drawings. You can see for yourself here how the mermaid has been used in different roles throughout the ages.
-links to other mermaid related web sites and a brief summary of what is particularly useful and interesting about them.
-including and extensive bibliography of the materials that were used to compile this information.